A Swan at Court
by penspot
Summary: Yeah... My title sucks. AU story based of Princess Tutu. Ahiru is a klutz with dreams of dancing. Rue is a perfect dancer with dreams of being loved. When these two are thrust into court life, they will find that dreams are not all they ar cracked up to be.


**A/N: Hey readers. So I have been on a Princess Tutu kick and after rematch ink the series and reading some wonderful works of fanfiction, I came up with an idea for my own fic. I understand similar premise has been done, but I'm a sucker for certain kinds of tropes. I hope you enjoy and don't forget to leave a review afterwards if you can.**

Chapter I

Duck the Klutz

"Hurry up, girls! There's no time to lose. Miss Penguini, replay the refrain again." The commands rolled off the tongue of a short, graying man standing at the front of the stage. The theatre was alive with bustling activity as dancers, musicians and stage hands worked to refine the finishing touches for their latest production. And with opening night being two nights away, one could also sense an edge of panic, especially in the older director Katen.

"Look alive everyone!" Karen bellowed. "Opening is on its way and this sequence must be perfect!" He waved his hand for Miss Penguini to begin playing and the dancers to begin the refrain's choreography. No one shone more brightly than a young dark haired beauty who was the female lead. Then again, she was the lead in all of Mr. Katen's productions, not particularly out of favoritism but because she was so good. Her leaps were graceful and her pirouette was sublime. Everyone knew it, but a young ginger-haired girl took special note of it with awe filled eyes.

Ahiru perched herself in the old rafters and looked down at the practice with an amazed smile. This had been her routine for most of her life- to watch the rehearsals when she had a moment. And the rafters proved the perfect vantage point. She admitted that the grump old product knew what he was doing when the dance looked gloriously out together not at eye level but from above. Everything fit together in smooth strokes like a moving painting of twirls and vaults. When the refrain ended and the dancers slid into their final positions, Ahiru moved to clap before remembering that technically she wasn't supposed to be up top watching in the first place.

Mr. Katen's voice boomed like thunder. "Wonderful! That is perfection! Now if only you can all pull that off on opening night."

"Mr. Katen, have a little faith," purred the lead. "Your opening night will go off without a hitch, I assure you."

"Thank you, my dear Rue. Now everyone, you have ten minutes before we go over the ending." The stage cleared leaving only Rue standing on the stage as the hands began setting up for the ending. Ahiru stared at the flawless dancer with shining admiration. One day she hoped to be just as graceful and elegant as Rue. Then perhaps she could lose her stupid nickname.

"DUCK!" Speaking of...

"Coming!" She hollered, causing Rue to jump a little in surprise. Ahiru ducked down her head quickly so she wouldn't be seen and scrambled down the ladder. Running as fast as she could without tripping over herself, she slid in front of Mr. Katen. "Yes, sir?"

"Duck, do you remember why you're here?"

Oh no... not this lecture again. Ahiru dipped her head and nodded.

"Because I don't have anywhere else to go."

"That's correct. At least that is what you told me when you begged to be apart of our troupe. Now, out of the generosity of my heart I let you stay. You have a roof, you have food, and all I ask in return is for you to do your job, correct me if I'm wrong."

"You are right, Mr. Katen."

"Good. So how come instead of setting up sets you aRE LAZING ABOUT IN THE RAFTERS?!"

Ahiru cringed. How did he always know? It was like Mr. Katen had the supernatural ability to always know where she was.

"I-I-"

The short man sighed with frustration. "I can't accept this lackadaisical behavior, Miss Ahiru. You're assistance won't be needed at the opening performance."

Ahiru gasped, tears welling in her eyes. "I'm so sorry, Mr. Katen! Please, don't cut me out from the show!"

"My girl, unless I do something you are never going to learn. Consider this a far better punishment than kicking you out on the street."

Ahiru held her tongue, fearing any amount of noise on her part would cost her her home. Just then a delicate hand rested on Mr. Katen's shoulder.

"Mr. Katen, you are too hard on the poor girl," said Rue. A twitch of irritation flickered across Mr. Katen's face as he turned to look up at her with his arms crossed.

"Is that so, Miss Rue?"

"I only mean to say that I would be flattered to have such an avid fan of the show. I noticed little Duck up there as ell and I could tell she was simple enamoured with your refrain. Isn't that right, Duck?"

Ahiru jumped a little at her nickname coming from Rue, but nodded humbly.

"Is that so?" Mr. Katen asked with a little note of suspicion.

"Your show is so well written, I can feel it when I dance and I'm sure that Duck can see it. We can't blame her for admiring your work, even if she momentarily forgot her place. Now that it's out of her system, I'm sure little Duck will be twice as glad to help your vision come to life for your audience."

"You're telling me that because she loves the show so much, she'll work hard to make it perfect," Mr. Katen mused aloud, mostly for Ahiru's sake.

Taking this as a hint she should speak, Ahiru nodded. "Yes! Oh yes, Mr. Katen! I will work twice as hard."

Mr. Katen rubbed his chin thoughtfully all the while keeping a suspicious eye trained on Ahiru. Duck held her breath, waiting for her employer's decision. Katen closed his eyes and nodded once. "Very well. Taking Miss Rue's advocation in account, I suppose you can continue your duties for the program."

Ahiru breathed a sigh of relief but was interrupted with a pointed look from Mr. Katen. "BUT, if I catch you slacking off one more time then your out of here for good! Understand?"

When Ahiru nodded fearfully, Mr. Katen seemed to be satisfied and walked away to check on the finale's backdrop. Ahiru looked up at Rue gratefully.

"Thank you."

Rue smirked and waved a hand loftily. "Think nothing of it."

"But I can't. You stuck your neck out for me. How can I repay you?"

Rue glanced down at Ahiru's giant blue eyes, glimmering with thankfulness and sincerity. It took Rue a little aback, but as a professional performer her mask never wavered. Instead she put out a playful smile and checked her manicured nails.

"Consider it a favor for a favor in return."

"Favor?"

"Of course. I did you a favor and I'm sure you can do me a favor in the future. That's fair enough, isn't it?"

"Yes, of course. Anything you need!"

"Then it's a deal. Now, I really need to stretch for the finale. It's the-"

"Most vigorous dance choreography in the whole show!" Ahiru interrupted. "I completely understand. I should probably get going and do like Mr. Katen said."

"Of course," said Rue, her smile never faltering but her curiosity about this girl started to peak. Everyone in the theatre knew about Duck, the klutzy little stage hand who lived in the tenant housing of the theatre among others. Whoever talked about her used a loving and laughable tone. She was like the kid sister of the live-ins. Of course Rue lived in town like most of the cast, so she never was able to meet the infamous klutzy Duck before. Now that she had, she could see what people meant. The little rose-haired girl with freckles and two left feet was an innocent little character and was growing on Rue with just one meeting. That in and of itself was an accomplishment.

Rue focused on stretching, periodically catching glimpses of Duck darting about her chores and stage hand duties. She was so silly, and it was the first time that Rue genuinely smiled.


End file.
